China: US tariffs violate Trump-Xi G20 consensus

EPA-EFE / MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

China's Finance Ministry accused the United States on Thursday of violating the trade consensus reached between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Osaka by planning to impose additional 10% tariffs on certain Chinese products next month.

Beijing added it will react with "countermeasures" if Washington goes ahead with introducing the additional duties on September 1 but did not specify what retaliatory steps it intends to take.

During their meeting at the G20 summit, Trump reportedly agreed not to implement any new tariffs on Chinese imports. However, the US later announced it will target $300 billion worth of Chinese products with a 10% tariff. Earlier this week, Washington noted it will delay the introduction of a part of the planned tariffs until mid-December in order to avoid the potential impact of tariffs on American customers during the Christmas shopping season.